Training programs for healthcare professionals in domestic violence

Although women who experience domestic violence seek healthcare services frequently, screening and counseling rates remain low, and healthcare professionals report feeling inadequately trained to care for abused women. The English language literature from 1989 to 1999 was searched to identify and evaluate published assessments of the education of healthcare providers in domestic violence toward women. Major deficiencies in program evaluation were found. They included the use of a historical comparison group, lack of an experimental design, selection of nonstandardized outcomes without clinical performance measures, short-term follow-up, limited documentation of course content and theory, and lack of focus on the impact of programs on abused women. Educational programs generally consisted of a single session of limited duration (1-3 hours). Based on published reports, it appears that few rigorously designed evaluations have been conducted of training programs for healthcare providers in the detection and treatment of women affected by domestic violence.